Originally Posted by ktag

This thread has been very helpful to me, i wish i had uncov ered it years ago.

I have constant tooth pain, have been implored for YEARS to "save the tooth". Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but 25 years of constant pain (teeth and sinus) in an expensive and ultimately futile effort to save brittle damaged teeth... well... dentists do their patients a huge disservice when they refuse to listen to them.

Every tooth i have had crowned, "had to have" a root canal. The root canal helped relieve pain for maybe 30 days. Ultimately, all of these teeth were removed, but only after a lot of arguing with the periodontist, who did not want to remove them. After each one was removed, the degree of the problem was apparent, and I was told "you made the right decision" post-removal.

The maxillary teeth were grown into my sinuses. After my procedure, my periodontist told me, unsolicited, that people with my problem typically have sinus pain relieved once the infected tooth is out. I feel 100% better having that tooth out, even with the post-procedural pain, it feels BETTER.

My periodontist is almost pain free! a very good technician, but I wish she would have removed the tooth when I asked her to do it 3 years ago, instead of costing me a fortune in root canal and restoration. On the plus side, I refused to have it permanently crowned until I knew it was going to be a good solution, so I saved myself another $1,000 right there.

"Save the tooth" is NOT always in a patients best interest, healthwise or financially.